Where I'm Going
by Desktop Warrior
Summary: As Nate and Tenzin begin their trek through the mountains in pursuit of Schäfer's expedition, Nate reflects on the events that lead him to where he is now.


**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Uncharted. It is the property of Naughty Dog and affiliated organizations.

A/N: **SPOILER ALERT **for Chapter 17 of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Also, I couldn't remember all the quotes from the game, so some of them may be incorrect.

* * *

**Where I'm Going**

It was quiet here outside the village, the only sounds coming from the occasional gentle breeze and the soft _swish-swish _their fur boots made as they trudged through the snow. Not many ventured into this treacherous, windswept terrain. The very isolation of this place, nestled among the Himalayan peaks, had ensured that the village remained untouched by the changes that overtook the outside world. Well, mostly untouched. Nathan Drake chuckled to himself, the soccer ball those kids had been playing with this morning coming to mind. _Now kick the ball back, _he'd told them upon catching the ball they'd accidentally kicked his way. Wide black eyes, young and curious, had looked back at him. _Kick it. K-kick. _Silly idea, he thought in retrospect. It was unlikely that the villagers knew any English, speaking only their local dialect of Tibetan.

Simple matters, these. Playing soccer with kids and charades with Tenzin, the man who'd just agreed to guide him on this trek through the mountains. He took even but shallow breaths as he walked, wisps of fog trailing from his mouth with every exhale. That, and the bandages wrapped around his torso, were subtle reminders that he hadn't fully recovered from that gunshot to his abdomen. _And there'd be another one in my skull right now if Chloe hadn't stopped Flynn when she did._

Nate paused, closed his eyes, and then followed Tenzin as his saviour dexterously manoeuvred down an icy rock face. _Not right now. I don't need this right now._ He focused on the task at hand, careful to keep his grip tight on the footholds as he lowered himself to a snowy ledge. Tenzin called for him to follow as soon as his boots touched the ground, motioning to a narrow pathway that snaked along a jagged cliff to the right. _Pick up the pace,_ he told himself. The sooner they reached the remains of Schäfer's expedition, the sooner they could get back to the village and Nate could wash his hands of this business once and for all. _Gotta keep moving, Nate,_ he told himself as he carefully navigated the cliff side. _Just follow Tenzin's lead._

* * *

_"Hang on, Jeff. Stay with me." The other man's weight dragged Nate down, his beefy arm chafing against Nate's shoulders. But they couldn't stop. Not now. Bullets streamed left and right. The humid air carried along barked commands in Serbian, shapes of gray and black scurrying back and forth behind a veil of rain._

_ A kick and loud slam. Then, an anxious female voice: "Hurry! In here!"_

_ He glanced at Jeff momentarily, forcing his legs to move as fast as they could. Rounds from an AK-47 grazed his cheek before he ducked inside the collapsing building – a house, or office, or police station, or whatever it was. It was damaged beyond recognition, in any case._

_ "I'll hold them off!" a deeper female voice with an Australian accent called up ahead. More gunshots, this time from her .45._

* * *

Nate shook his head. No, there was nothing he could do about it now. He followed Tenzin around a bend and shuddered at a sudden gust of wind which blew a thin wisp of snow in his face. The guide called out something in Tibetan, presumably detailing what lay ahead. _Seems like we're in for another adventure...just like I always seem to be finding myself in these days._

This was a very unfamiliar feeling, Nate mused. It didn't make sense. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt such a complicated mix of emotions. And he..._he didn't know how to deal with it._ That was the worst part, really. In the past, it had always been just about him. Sure, he'd worked with others before, but somehow, he'd reasoned that they could take care of themselves. Eddy Raja, his sister Rika, Sully...they could hold their own.

_"You were supposed to have my back!"_

The accusing voice stung Nate, memory though it was. _I _did_ have your back, Chloe,_ he protested silently. He shifted his gaze and tried to get the jumble of memories out of his mind, looking upon a deep ravine that split the mountain in two. From the looks of it, they were in a small crater of sorts, with glistening rock walls leaning inward to either side. Tenzin gestured across to the other side of the ravine. Nate judged that they could probably jump across the gap, but he wasn't willing to chance it.

_"...instead, you burden it with _theirs_."_

He gritted his teeth. _What did you expect me to do? I couldn't just leave Elena and Jeff behind!_

* * *

_ The huge man gestured airily at Jeff, who lay on the ground in a pool of his own blood. "You dragged him all the way from the temple?" His voice was low and rough, like military boots pounding on trodden earth. "Shame." He aimed his Colt at the helpless cameraman whose eyes filled with fear for one brief moment before−_

* * *

_Yeah...I couldn't leave them behind, and look how that turned out._ Nate blinked and took another deep breath, letting it out with a soft sigh. Apparently, Tenzin wasn't taking any risks either. He noticed that the guide was eyeing a thick ridge that jutted from the middle of the right hand wall, and was preparing to toss a rope with a metal grapple attached to it.

"Yeah, good luck, pal," Nate scoffed, raising his eyebrows. "That's almost impossible to–" His words were cut off as the hook of Tenzin's rope attached itself firmly to the underside of the ridge.

"Oh, you did it. Nice," he mumbled embarrassedly as Tenzin swung over and deftly landed on the far ledge, throwing up a cloud of snow. His lips parted into a hint of a mirthless smile. _At least Elena's_ _safe in the village now. Wonder how she managed to make it all the way up here. Doubt she had to shoot down a helicopter with a tank sitting on top of a train in the process. _

He chuckled to himself before eyeing the rope cautiously. Now, it was his turn. "Sure, let's just swing across on the seventy-year old rope..." he muttered. He took a deep breath and leaped from the edge of the walkway, gripping the rope tightly in both hands and trying his best not to look down. Using the momentum of the rope, he let go once he'd reached the far ledge, landing on the snowy surface with a roll. _If Chloe thought I was a monkey back at the monastery, she should see me now..._

Chloe. Where could she be now? _I _tried_ to rescue you! I really did! I even got Elena involved, risked her own safety...for you._

* * *

_ Chloe glared at him with those steely gray eyes, cold as the icy wind that blew snow down from the mountains. "I never asked for any of your bloody heroics!" she hissed, standing in the entryway of the train car._

* * *

_You _chose_ not to come with me! You _chose_ to stay with Flynn! _The very words sounded hesitant and uncertain in his head.

_I could've saved you...coulda, woulda, shoulda. Doesn't matter anymore._

Tenzin spoke again, snapping Nate out of his reverie. He got to his feet and dusted himself off, shifting his gaze to the guide, who was gesturing to a rickety wooden ladder to their left. His eyes followed the length of the ladder, which stretched down the sheer icy wall of the ravine and disappeared into a thick mist about thirty feet down. Nate nodded in meek understanding and stared into the abyss. The bottom seemed to be miles away...

He sighed to himself as he watched Tenzin climb down, carefully gripping the ladder's icy rungs. It didn't look very stable, and not for the first time, he kicked himself for being persuaded into going on this crazy quest. _Everything I touch turns to shit. _His own words from that morning echoed in his mind. But no matter what Schäfer said, it was true, he reasoned. This whole thing had started out badly, gone badly, and would likely end just as badly.

_Your quest is just beginning._

Another voice spoke in his mind. German-accented, it was tinged with age but still firm. _Yeah, just so you know, Sch__ä__fer, I'm not doing this by choice,_ Nate muttered to himself.

_Then why are you here, letting Tenzin lead you on this errand?_

_ I...I don't..._

His thoughts trailed off. Why _was_ he here, really? For Tenzin, who'd appeared like a phantom in that blizzard a few days ago and brought him to the safety of the village? For Elena, whose life he'd risked from the moment he'd run into her in the city? For Chloe, who didn't want to be rescued after all? To stop that monster from wreaking even more destruction than he already had?

Or was he here to prove something to himself?

_Trust me, young man. Your ego will mend._ An interesting choice of words from Schäfer. There was more to them than just the obvious. It was as if the older man could sense the thoughts and emotions churning within him. It wasn't just about this adventure. It was about something intrinsically his.

And facing that would be his most difficult task.

"I hope you know where you're going, buddy..." Nate said apprehensively. He followed Tenzin's lead, gingerly climbing down the ladder into the frozen void.

_Because I don't._


End file.
